A Poet From The Stars
by fallen-wolfborn
Summary: When the world of metal is safe, Eddie and the others leave through a portal for a chance to relax. They didn't count on not being the first to do so, or being the fulfillers of an ancient prophecy. R&R plz first fic. slight AU LitaxCousland later.
1. An Open Gate

An Open Gate

"Oh Mangus; you are so dead when I get out from under here!" called Lita from underneath a pile of stage rubble.

"Well if you're going to kill me, then kill the Fire Baron as well. He pushed me through it!" came the indignant cry of the head roadie.

"I dids noo suchs fing," slurred the completely plastered Baron, looking convincingly annoyed at the accusations, although he grinned at Mangus, who was desperately clawing the wreckage off of Lita and falling over a lot. "Jush becush I'm drunk, you blame me!" The Kill Master sat in another corner beside Rima, each taking in this brilliant, photo worthy scene, as Eddie would say. What was a photo anyway?

Rima was almost like a cat, curling beside her boyfriend, who was calming her to sleep with the low primal tones of his bass. To Rima, it sounded like the snoring of a fire beast, and as long as the fire beast slept well, so would she. Kill Master felt a tap on the shoulder, and he turned around to see Ophelia standing there shivering.

"Hi." she said simply and walked towards the fire to warm up. He nodded in welcome. It had been a cold winter, but Ophelia felt it more-so than the others did these days. Eddie had not returned since the autumn, and Ophelia missed him deeply, more deeply than the Brides of the Drowning Doom had made Lita feel about Lars, which was nigh impossible.

Then, she heard a familiar sound echo across the plains of Bladehenge, but it was so loud that she held her ears to protect them. "IRONHEADE!" Lita clawed her way out from beneath the wreckage and leapt up, looking at the group around her in surprise.

"Well, well, well. Eddie returns to the Screaming Wall. Let's go find out what the nutball wants." Nevertheless, she laughed at the thought of seeing her old friend again.

"Can I bring booze?" came the question from behind her, obviously from the Fire Baron.

The trip was short, but feelings were high with the thought of seeing Eddie Riggs with them once more. The Baron was too drunk to ride so the Kill Master dragged him behind his Thunderhog, while Rima slept on the back of her Fire Beast, which knew where to go as it followed Lita's directions. The Screaming Wall was frozen solid this time of year, so no feedback was likely to occur, but they were cautious as they descended to the supply stores where the Roadies kept their amps. The battle stage of Ormagöden loomed at them out of the darkness as the shadowy figure of Eddie leapt down to greet them.

"Ironheade! My friends it's great to see you again," he said as he hugged those whom he knew would accept it. Then he picked up Ophelia in his arms and they kissed openly, so joyous to see each other again. "Those must have been some long bloody errands mate," said the Kill Master jokingly. "I've been killing demons and chilling with the Ironheaders in the west, out near Death's Clutch. I was gonna surprise you guys, but I found something weird happening at Ormagöden's temple on my way back."

"The temple of the Fire Beast? What's wrong? Tell us." questioned Lita, for whom the temple was sacred.

"Well, you know that we rebuilt the bridge last year so that we could clear the place of Coil? I visited yesterday to clear my head and to jam in peace. The thing is, there's a giant freaky portal opened just below the big statue." He looked around at his friend's faces which were etched with dismay.

"But Eddie, you can't leave for your home, we need you man!" begged Mangus.

"What? I'm not leaving. Come on, have you seen this world around you. It's awesome! I could never leave my friends. Besides, I looked through it, and that's not my world through there. It's new. My mom and dad travelled through hundreds of portals together, and the worst thing to come out of that was me." Rima sniggered at that.

"So what are you saying Riggs?" asked the Kill Master. "Will you guys come with me?"

"What seriously?"

"Yes Mangus, seriously."

"I'm with the boss on this."

Kill Master spoke up, "As long as Rima and the bass come too."

"I will follow the son of Riggnarok to whatever end." called Rima as she rode back towards the jungle to gather her stuff.

"Road trip!," chirped up the Fire Baron, as he stumbled back towards the outline of Bladehenge against the moonlight.

"I will go too, it will be nice to see something new for a change. Plus, a suntan is always a bonus. I will need to get someone to watch over Lars' grave though," said Lita thoughtfully. Then she turned and stepped down one of the mountain slopes, skidding at the bottom.

"Did you teach her to do that?" asked Eddie to Ophelia. "Hmm, yeah with a little help from Rima. Lita's been so nice when you were away Eddie," she said sadly.

"I'm not going away anymore, Ophelia." Then Eddie pressed his lips to hers, and the night was lost to them.

1010101

The sun rose on a new scene, the seven of them walking up the highway which led to the temple, and a sense of respect was paid by each of them to the creator of their world. Each of them was silent, so quiet as if a word would awaken the dead or worse, the Fire Beast himself. The enormous wooden gates which had once held any attackers at bay, and which were destroyed by Eddie within ten minutes of his arrival in their world, still lay in tatters with the brass hinges bent in half.

They trod past the Relic Raiser tab-slab and began to climb the causeway of bones towards the ruined temple of Ormagöden. Rima and the Baron, who had never seen the scale of the temple before, stood in awe of the size and awesomeness of the structure, which rivaled the Zaulia pyramid in the jungles to the east.

"Whoa, that's a lot of dead stuff Eddie," said Mangus.

"Yep, creepy dead stuff too," he replied. They clambered up the last few bone piles, and were helped up onto the courtyard floor by Eddie and the Kill Master. The deformed skeletons of a few Coil monks lay headless or fried around the towering, majestic monument which stood in reverence and remembrance to Ormagöden's sacrifice and glorious death. Lita raised her eyebrow at Eddie and folded her arms neatly.

"Well what would you do if you were being attacked by freaky demons and there just happened to be a shiny axe stuck in the ground in front of you?" He patted the Separator on his back lovingly. Lita laughed appreciatively.

"Well, there it is," said Eddie, gesturing with his axe at the pulsating blue void in front of them."

"Whoa, that's spaced; boss man!" exclaimed Mangus.

"Do the words 'silver machine' mean anything to you Kill Master? They may do one day." Kill Master looked at Eddie, confused. Eddie saw the look and shook his head. "Never mind."

"So are we going into this thing or not?" asked the Baron impatiently. "One small step for a metalhead, one giant leap for rock and roll." said Eddie with some sort of sentiment which the others couldn't put their finger on. Then he stepped forward with grace and composure. And tripped on a rock and fell in head first.

"Really graceful Riggs," admonished Lita before following him into the void.


	2. A Brutal New Vision

A Brütal New World

"BAD IDEA, BAD IDEA!" thought Eddie to himself as he fell into unconsciousness. A black night sky enveloped him without him knowing and he plummeted through the sky with the others. Seven beautiful shooting stars each not knowing what they were about to do. Or that a pair of aging eyes gazed upon the sight, and his weary heart was filled with hope.

"They come at last. Better late than never." Duncan walked calmly towards where the seven figures had impacted, far in the distance.

"...bad idea." said Eddie, sitting up with an aching pain in his neck and chest. "Ow."

"He awakens at last then. Good day; son of Riggnarok." Eddie looked round to see Rima crouched behind him, with the Baron sat passed out with a few bottles of whiskey laid beside him, obviously sleeping off a hangover, and not the crash. The seven were seated in a shallow cave, and Eddie wondered who had dragged him into it. Lita, Kill Master and Ophelia were sat beside a fire cooking some sort of deer-like creature, which reminded Eddie of a Raptor Elk.

Mangus was standing watch at the cave entrance, through which no daylight shone. Eddie sat up and grabbed Clementine from where she lay on a nearby rock. The others watched him as he began to lovingly tune the battered old antique, which Eddie kept near to him always, as if it was his soul. He then got up and stumbled slightly over to the others and sat down beside Ophelia, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Hey. How long was I out?"

"Several hours more than me," replied Ophelia, "but Lita came round first."

"So how do you like the cave Eddie?" said Mangus from the entrance.

"Needs amps and lights, awesome job though guys. Sweet first venue on the second Tour of Destruction!" he cheered. " 'Cept this time, no more pathetic sell-outs , no more teenage zombies and no more perverted S&M demons. Just the pure soul cleansing power of rock! "

They all nodded in agreement for that.

"Quiet down over there, I've a huge bloody headache here!" yelled the Baron.

1010101

The next morning, they headed out to explore the wilderness that they had, quite literally, fallen into. The first thing Eddie noticed was the gaping hole in the earth where the group had crashed. It was big, to say the least, measuring about 100m from side to side. They trekked past and onward to the pathways. Lita and the others looked around at the past in wonder, while Eddie walked on. They had never seen such a simple ad beautiful landscape before. Fields which stretched into miles and lead to the mountains in the west. So peaceful, or so it seemed.

Someone was watching them, Rima felt it. She crept into the bushes without the others noticing. She had disappeared for a few minutes, when the others heard a battle cry ring across the landscape.

"_**Zaulia!" **_

The six looked at each other in anxiety and charged in the direction of the scream. No rest after all. What they came upon was something unexpected, to say nothing of it. Rima had tackled an older man and was currently beating him over the head with her fists. Kill Master dragged his girlfriend off the poor man, whose bearded face was bloodied and scratched.

"Rima, calm down babe." said the Kill Master coolly, not wanting to antagonize her when she was in the fit of a battle frenzy.

"He was following us." she replied.

"You ok dude?" asked Eddie worriedly, apologizing to the man who Rima had clawed.

"Yes I'm quite alright." said the man, dusting himself off. "Thanks for the rescue at any rate." Then he looked up at the giant that was Eddie Riggs. "Impressive. My name is Duncan, leader of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden. And who are you folk, so strangely dressed and armed?"

Rima scowled at him, "I am not in the mood for questions old man. Why were you following us?"

Duncan smiled apologetically at Rima, "I cannot lie to someone who could detect me so easily. I know where you came from. I saw you fall from the stars two nights ago. Strangers in a strange land."

Eddie looked at Lita, puzzled, "I'm sorry man, but what is a Grey Warden? And I agree with Rima, why were you following us?"

Duncan sighed, "The Grey Wardens are an ancient order of warriors who defend against the bestial darkspawn, each chosen for his or her _unique talents. _And as for why I was following you, I cannot say. I only know that I felt something unusual standing near you people. I was wondering whether you would like to accompany me?"

"What, where?" askedOphelia, speaking for the first time. "We don't even know you, and you want us to follow you?"

"Pretty much, yes my lady." hereplied. Ophelia blushed at being called 'my lady'.

"If you can lead us to the nearest pub, I'll follow." saidthe Baron with a hint of relish.

Eddie considered it for a moment, and then called the others into a group. "I like it. What about you?"

"I don't consider those who sit and watch others to be a friend Edward," said Rima.

"I'm with the Baron, we need a place to eat and sleep. Besides, we can take him if he goes nuts," answered Lita.

"I'm with you boss," said Mangus.

"Sorry Eddie, but I'm with Rima, he's a little creepy. Something feels wrong about 'im." replied Kill Master.

"Well, Ophelia and the Baron seem to think it's ok. Majority rules." said Eddie. He turned to Duncan, picked up Ophelia and sat her on his shoulder. "We'll go, but you need to stop sneaking about. I'm Eddie Riggs, a Roadie; and this beautiful lady is Ophelia. The guy in the shades and sideburns is the Kill Master and the other one is the Baron. This is Lita Halford and Mangus the engineer. Finally, the girl with the face paint who tried to rip your face off is Rima. We are Ironheade. And about your face, Kill Master; would you do the honours?"

Kill Master pulled out his bass and started playing the low, primal tones and light shone from the cuts on Duncan's face as they healed over. When he stopped, Duncan gasped to himself in surprise as he felt over the healing. "What magic is this, which you can play it through an instrument?"

Eddie spoke proudly of the power they had. "The great and glorious power of metal, my good man."

1010101

The bizarre party walked east for a few days, until they reached the outline of a towering castle, topped with guards and high stone battlements.

"Behold; the castle Highever. Wait for me here, I will return in tomorrow." said Duncan as he walked off in the direction of the castle walls.

"Yes, finally I get a lie down." replied the Baron tiredly.

That night, the sky lit up in flame. It was as though Ormagӧden himself had fallen upon the world. Lita was the first to notice it, and forgetting the others, ran off to the castle burning in the distance. When she reached the walls, the gates were not damaged. _**'Strange'**_ she thought as she levered the door open with her halberd. A blast of hot air escaped through the gap, and she slipped inside.

From a hall, she heard the thunderous crack of a door breaking and screams as someone was brutally cut down. She ran through the passageways and caught a glimpse of several armed men attacking some people who, to her sight were quite small and had pointed ears.

She ran up to the assailants with her halberd raised, with a cry of "_**Ironheade**_!" echoing in her chest. The soldiers didn't know what hit them as a blonde angel of vengeance cut them down, shattering skulls and shields as one.

"Thank you miss!" cried the family as they ran off towards the gates. She stumbled though what she saw as a kitchen, and into a store room; to see Duncan kneeling beside a wounded man and a woman with a quiver of arrows on her back. There was a younger man also, standing beside his mother and dying father. He had such sorrow in his dark blue eyes. And anger.

"Duncan, we must leave now! The fire is spreading quickly." said Lita with a voice full of urgency.

"Lita, meet Bryce and Eleanor Cousland, teryn and teryna of Highever. And their youngest son, Chulain. You are right, of course. Follow me." He grabbed Chulain by the shoulder and as they passed, she could see his face dripped wet with a mix of blood and tears. And she understood.

"I'm sorry." she said softly as they followed Duncan out of the castle.


	3. Tears of the Dark

Tears of the Dark

The group saw Duncan and Lita approach, carrying a limp body between them. Chulain had passed out from grief and pain. Eddie and Ophelia walked over to the three forlorn figures and embraced Lita. She smiled silently at the two and then crouched down beside the beaten and bruised young man lying on the ground. The burning carcass of Castle Highever cast an ethereal glow over the landscape. The Baron lit a fire in the centre of the group and started softly singing a song he had overheard in the Deuce:

"Hero of the night  
Blood and thunder; Rushing through me  
Till the dawn of light, the sky is turning red!"

Rima and Mangus began to sing and the Kill Master picked out the chords on his bass.

"Leather Rebel  
Lightning in the dark  
Leather Rebel  
With a burning heart!"

The others danced around the burning embers like they had back home and Eddie played a few guitar solos on Clementine, lifting the mood of the group higher and higher. Duncan sat and listened to the strange music. Ophelia crossed over to Lita and kneeled beside her, handing her a beer.

They sat for a while in silence, listening to the bittersweet sound of the metal, an unintentional but fitting epitaph for the Couslands.

Then Ophelia spoke, "You could have called us to go with you, you know." Lita nodded, but she never broke her gaze at Chulain, lying unconscious beside her. "So, how did that happen?" asked Ophelia; quietly indicating the blaze in the distance.

Lita felt a single tear glide ever so slowly down her cheek and hit the ground with silence. Then she turned to Ophelia and spoke through her choked throat, "He was their friend and he betrayed them for power and money." Then she shouted, "He was their friend!" The party beside the fire went silent and walked over to Lita and Ophelia. Mangus pulled her up onto her feet and embraced her. Lita sobbed quietly into his shoulder.

"There you go sister, let it all out." She hadn't cried when Lars was killed, so why was she crying for someone she didn't know?

Kill Master sat down and took his watch over Chulain. They had been travelling for two days straight to someplace that Duncan called Ostagar, where they went to reinforce the king who wanted to make a stand against the darkspawn. Still didn't sound as awesome as Bladehenge. This guy must be pretty special to make Lita cry for the right reasons, about an hour after she met him.

"Wonder if you can play drums?" he said to himself. Chulain awoke as if from a bad dream and snapped up. He gazed around and saw the giant of a man sitting beside him and lighting a cigar. He looked down at Chulain and grinned. "Good mornin' sleeping beauty." Chulain scrambled backwards and looked at the giant before with strange glasses on his eyes and dark clothes etched with symbols. A maleficar. He was going to die.

Kill Master stuck out his hand to Chulain, "The name's Kill Master. Don't worry it's just a name." He smiled back at the giant. Ok, so maybe he wasn't a maleficar.

"Where are we?" he asked, looking quickly around. Castle Highever was nowhere in sight.

"Some field in the middle of nowhere. Ask Duncan, I haven't the foggiest. ... Sorry about your folks man. Brave people."

Chulain nodded solemnly. "Thank you. So how did you get me out of there?"

Kill Master pulled down his shades and gazed at Chulain. "Don't thank him who was asleep at the time. Thank Lita over there. She and Duncan dragged you out of that death trap." He got up and walked over to the fire and lay down. Chulain gazed at his unconscious saviour, the angel of justice.

"Thank you."

"She hears you. Not that it matters much at the moment." Chulain looked around to see Eddie, another giant striding towards him with a strange weapon in his grasp, which looked a little like a bard's lute.

"Are all the men of your land so tall?" he asked the Kill Master.

Eddie laughed a little at that, but returned quickly to his grim demeanour.

"Seriously man, we know what you're going through. Leave Lita out of it until you get yourself back in action. I've seen what happens when sorrow destroys the heart. It ain't pretty. You know she cried for you, openly? She didn't even cry when her older brother was killed right in front of her. Be careful what you do man, it could burn you."

Chulain nodded in quiet understanding of Lita, who he hadn't even spoken to for more than three seconds. "So you are a bard then?"

"What? No, I just like my music to be played by me or those who were born to."

"You speak of playing the lute as if it is a destiny or profession. Surely it is nothing more than a pastime?"

"Not where we're from. And it's a guitar, not a lute. Unless the music in your life is pure and good, your life will be miserable. I bet you never even heard a power chord." And with that he flipped Clementine into his hands and strummed the strings in perfect time to the sound of the night breeze and the roll of thunder.

Chulain felt a shot hit his spine as the power of rock washed over him and silenced the doubts in his heart. Such a bittersweet melancholy and yet beautiful sound, like the howl of the timber wolf in the winter or the sound of weeping stone as it was chiselled into a picturesque sculpture. Nothing he had heard before had made him feel as empowered, or indeed so humbled.

"What is that power within the instrument? So strong and inspiring."

"Hell, I haven't even played the Battle Cry yet and you're already curious." Eddie then proceeded to tell Chulain everything that had happened back in the metal world. Meeting Ophelia and the Halfords, raising Ironheade and defeating Lionwhyte, the death of Lars, Ophelia's drowning and how the purity of music had saved them all. Especially metal.

"Metal is so good because it embodies the rush of the road and the path to freedom. Once a great man said that, 'the Gods made Heavy Metal. And they saw that it was good. They said to play it louder than hell, we promised that we would.'"

Chulain raised his opposite fingers in salute to the Maker who made heavy metal. He did not know why, but the others raised their index and pinky to make the horns as he did.


	4. Hallowed Be Thy Mind

Hallowed Be Thy Mind

The expanse of the road to Ostagar was lined with refugees, fleeing the wrath and anger of the darkspawn advancing from the south. Most of them did not even look up at the strange travellers, so worried and anxious they were, the party was barely even noticed. A few nights later, they saw it, a white marble speck on the horizon, a shining beacon of hope and military might, so Duncan had called it.

The ancient ruins which lined the road grew ever more beautiful and arcane in their appearance as they got closer. Eddie even swore that he had seen a small version of the Statue of Liberty, which no-one actually knew what it was.

As the white city began to loom up before them, Mangus fell into step beside Chulain, who gazed at the shorter roadie with a mix of awe and ... a feeling he couldn't place. Nausea, that was it. The roadie smiled and raised a small hand in greeting. "Hey man. What's up?" Strange question.

"In this world? The sky. What about yours?"

Mangus stared at the newcomer. His brown eyes gazing almost into Chulain's being. He broke down laughing. "Nice one, dude. That's deep, real deep." He continued laughing and walked on.

"What?"

The pure, white-washed walls rose up on their two sides, filling them with a mix of respect and dread. Then Lita froze, and dropped to her knees with both her eyes filled with tears. _Lars._

A figure in heavy silver plate stepped up across the bridge and strode up to them, embracing Duncan. Chulain bowed to the newcomer, while the others stood and stared. Eddie quickly picked Lita up and hid her tear streaked face from his view.

"It's not him. Calm down girl."

"...a king riding to war with the Grey Wardens against a tainted god. And who are these warriors, so strangely garbed?" A light British accent rolled from him.

"I found them wandering the roads, your majesty. I had a feeling about them being skilled fighters.

"If Duncan trusts you then as do I. Welcome to Ostagar."

He stepped over to the group and extended his hand to Kill Master. When instead several of the group embraced him, he was puzzled. "We missed you man."

"It's not Lars guys." Eddie's voice sliced through the silent moment. "Actually come to think of it, he doesn't look very much like Lars."

It was true, where Lars had been clean shaven; the king of Ferelden had a thin five o'clock shadow around his jaw. His face was thinner and the hair was different also. Duncan was trying desperately not to chuckle, but he did so anyway.

Such boldness from these warriors, while Chulain stared; shocked at the two clinging to Cailan, namely Mangus and the Baron. Rima slapped her hand against her face in a face palm while Kill Master simply lit a cigar and took the king's still outstretched hand. Mangus and the Baron quickly grinned at the bemused king and released their grip.

Then Eddie spoke, "Sorry 'bout that, your awesomeness, we thought you were... someone else." The quick look of pain on his face did not go unnoticed by Chulain, who made a mental note to talk to him later about it, if Eddie would allow something to stop his mind for a minute.

Cailan just laughed and embraced the giant in return. "Quite alright, an honest mistake. Such welcoming people you travel with Duncan, it's good to see it so. The Blight hasn't changed all people then."

Eddie looked puzzled, "The what now?"

Duncan quickly stepped in. "Another story for another place and time I think, your majesty. How goes the preparations? How is Loghain these days?"

"He bides well, but he's uptight about the battle tomorrow. Spends all his time working on some brilliant strategy to take over Thedas! Or it seems like it anyway... Sorry, I must bid you farewell strange warriors." Then Chulain stepped forward and bowed again to the king.

"I am sorry your majesty, but I am Chulain Cousland. May I speak to you in private for a minute or two? It's about my ... family."

"The younger Cousland? Yes, follow me."

The others watched in silence as Chulain and the king walked behind a few pillars in the courtyard, just outside of hearing range. They talked back and forth for a while and soon they got bored waiting, and returned to Duncan. Rima noticed the sadness in his eyes.

"So Warden Man, what troubles your heart this darkening day?" Her voice was full of sincerity and anxiety. She may not trust anything that the older man did or said but she was worried. That look was all too familiar. Eddie before the battle at the sunken cathedral. The look that destroyed age old empires.

"The Darkspawn rise quickly, a Blight is here. The king and the general don't fully trust the Warden's foresight and I fear we will be dead within a day or two." he said as he sat on the ground and buried his face in his hands.

Rima sighed and sat beside him. "Well, it could be worse."

Duncan glanced quickly at her incredulously. "How?"

"You can smell like Mangus. Simply."

Duncan laughed loudly, and Rima smiled; showing two white canines, which were sharpened of course.

"Too true, too true. Ah, it has been a while since I last laughed like that. The world tires us all eventually." He sighed.

"Here's an idea Warden Man. Go talk Eddie and ask him to play some music for the soldiers and Cailan. That would cheer anyone else up in our world."

Duncan thought about it and then smiled. "A fine plan. I'll go at once, Woman of the Wilds." He chuckled slightly and stepped up and walked off to find the King.

'_A fine title.'_ Rima thought to herself.

Eddie woke up with a start. It was very dark. 'Must've drifted off.' he thought to himself. He yawned widely and shook himself off the ground. Then stopped. Footsteps crept slowly up behind him and the sound of a sword leaving its sheath was unmistakable.

'_CRAP.'_

He swung around, the Separator raised above his head. And then was met by an assault on his lips. _Ophs. _They stood for several minutes like that, under the amaranthine sky and the white alabaster buildings shining in brightly the pale moonlight.

'_This would definitely, make a cool album cover.'_ he thought, and then released her for lack of air. "Hello beautiful." he echoed from the Guardian of Metal. She smiled at him, her deep blue eyes touching the very fibre of his being.

"Really, that old line?" she said as she crushed her lips to his once more.

Chulain saw them briefly in the firelight, and felt something tug at the back of his mind. He had shared that briefly with someone before, though it had seemed like an age ago. _'Iona. Poor, sweet Iona.'_ He sighed and fell backwards onto his bed roll and gazed up at the stars. Long ago, he and Fergus had done the same on the roof of the great hall. Just lain down and watched.

He fell into the Fade and wandered the corridors of his fractured mind, or so the Fade suggested. Ten he turned a corner and saw her standing there. In leather armour and the halberd raised high in salute. His angel of justice. Despite the plated helmet on her head, he recognized her instantly. Then for the rest of the night, he simply stood beside her. And then he woke, or so he thought.

"The sun is climbing, wakey-wakey man."

He spun round to see that the world was covered in fire and molten rock.

"By the Maker..."

"Of what?" He turned his head and saw the long black hair, the red tinted glasses and the long dark robes.

"Hey man. I'm the Guardian of Metal. And if I'm visiting you in your dreams rather than leaving a message, you better have a F****** good reason for calling me.

One thought. _'What the hell?'_


	5. Fire, Bats And Brimstone

Fire, Bats and Brimstone

Chulain just stood for a moment, gaping at the man in the dark robes. He was looking a little amused. "Well, don't stand there gawking man. It's very rude I'll have you know. I'm the Guardian of Metal, and who the hell are you?"

"Ch-chulain of Highever. What in the Maker's name is this place?" Magma and stone surrounded him. This wasn't the Fade. This was a home of the damned. He looked and saw in the distant caverns, huge giants; who were hammering away at strips of metal on massive anvils.

The Guardian of Metal smiled widely, showing white teeth. "This? This is my ... humble abode." He bowed as he said it. "This is the Forge of Ormagӧden. A sanctuary of metal, in all its fiery majesty!"

"What are you doing here then? What role do you play?"

"Me? I'm just a keeper of timeless secrets. But you're someone special. Mr Riggs up there, he was from another world too, and he got in here. So it stands to reason that you are special as well. Be happy, you lucky little b******! The Gods of Metal are watching you. And so are we."

There was no-one else in the cavern. "We?"

Suddenly there was a female voice from the fire. "We have guests again, darling?" A woman stepped out of the flames, accompanied by two teenagers.

"Yes dear, another one of the Gods' new favourites, name's Colin or summat. Meet my wife Shaza and me two little firespawn, Kell and Kris." The woman was shorter than him, with burning red hair. The younger girl had dark hair and had a very pale face, obviously heavily made up. The boy was similar, but had a ring through his lower lip. The two waved at him.

The older woman pointed at him. "He's a favourite of the Gods? They might be losing their ability to think rationally, but this is ridiculous. He's so young!"

Chulain stared at her. "Chosen of the Gods? What is this you speak of?"

The Guardian grinned again showing all his teeth. "Ah, a tale worth telling many times over. Great for family reunions and holidays. First of all, meet someone first." He pointed into the molten distance of the cavern. Chulain looked and saw a giant man, sitting with his legs crossed on a pedestal and a shattered sword on his lap.

"Meet the first king of Humankind for over hundred years, Lars Halford." His hair was blonde and long, his face very peaceful and calm. "Yeah, he sits there now. Sleeping until another evil is vanquished from the mortal plane. Whatever that is..."

"The dead brother of Lita ... is alive?" Chulain tried to take this in. Someone had been brought back from death?

"Well sort of. He's no longer able to walk around upstairs, but he will intervene spiritually with Lita. That might make her feel better; she was always very serious about everything."

"But anyway, you are watched by the Metal Gods, those blokes over there working. You see, there was this guy a long time ago, a seer you may call him. He predicted that a great poet would fall from Ormagӧden's grasp, and liberate the world. It happened about three months back."

Then Kell stepped forward beside her dad. "But the message of Rock would not stop there, he said. It would spread to other times, and other worlds. It would just keep on going, picking up new followers as it went. It would not always be peaceful, but it would never force anyone to adhere to it. A perfect philosophy."

Kris then took over. "This guy was thought to be crazy, but he also said that certain things in the timelines of those worlds that were affected by Metal in particular would change for the better. Fewer people would die, that sort of thing. That's always good."

The Guardian of Metal nodded. "True that. I'll not waste your time any further, just one more thing." There was a bubbling of lava behind him and out of the flames shot two objects. A spear and a shield. "These man, are the weapons of the Titans. The spear; Saxon, from Ormagӧden's rib and the Shield of Steel, from the thick skull bone. Take them; they will help a lot where you're going."

Then he pulled a small metal box out of his pocket, and flipped the lid open and closed. "A new Mouth of Metal, it's a lot louder than the old one. Listen to the music of the Titans for hope. Now all aboard the crazy train, you're gonna have one hell of a miserable headache when you wake up."

Then Chulain felt an impact to the back of his head, and the last thing he heard was the insane laughter of the Guardian of Metal.

He bolted up with a start and immediately felt alive. And four words left his lips in blaring speed.

"LET THERE BE ROCK!"

Eddie and a few of the others sat up and stared at him in silence. Then each lifted their hands into horns and bellowed the same.

"_**LET THERE BE ROCK!"**_

The whole area awoke to the shouting, like a bugle wake up. A few of the soldiers didn't look particularly happy. The group grinned sheepishly. Then a young man with short red hair walked up to them and bowed before offering his hand.

Eddie took it and shook it tightly. "I couldn't help but overhear what you said, if that's the right word. You must be the soldiers Duncan found on the Road. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Alistair, I'm one of the Grey Wardens stationed here at Ostagar."

Eddie nodded and bowed the same. "Good to see you too man. Why have you come to talk to us, of all weirdoes around here?"

Alistair shrugged. "You seemed to have so much passion in what you were saying. The only ones I have heard before now were the Chantry. What was that you were shouting about anyway? Rock? Do you find solace in the worship of the stone, like the Dwarves?"

Eddie raised an eyebrow and laughed a little. "No dude, we don't worship the ground. You see where we come from, the music we play and enjoy gives us strength in battle. The father or mother is Rock, the original outlet of rebellion and power. We particularly follow a genre of Rock known to all people as METAL!" The group cheered at that.

"The strength of Metal is seen all around us, especially in the weapons we forge. It is a more aggressive form of Rock and more warlike, but we see it as a more sacred music than any other. And therefore ... we mosh!" Then he did something Alistair never expected. Eddie pulled out Clementine, and picked out the starting chords of a powerful song. The rest of the group gathered around to listen.

"_**Finished with my woman  
'Cause she couldn't help me with my mind  
People think I'm insane  
Because I am frowning all the time."**_

The rest of the nearby troops began to hear the tones of Black Sabbath and followed the sound to where the gang were swaying and head banging to the sound of the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness.

"_**All day long I think of things  
But nothing seems to satisfy  
Think I'll lose my mind  
If I don't find something to pacify**_

_**Can you help me  
Occupy my brain, oh yeah."**_

Alistair couldn't stop himself, he felt compelled to head bang as the others did. _'What sweet wonderful cacophony is this? So raw, so powerful, so free! I love it!'_

"_**I need someone to show me  
The things in life that I can't find  
I can't see the things that make  
True happiness, I must be blind**_

Make a joke and I will sigh  
And you will laugh and I will cry  
Happiness I cannot feel  
And love to me is so unreal."

Eventually the Chantry listened, and were amused. The priestess stopped preaching and sat down in deep thought. '_A wonderful gift from the Maker. It will at least take the minds of the soldiers off the battle tonight.'_

"_**And so as you hear these words  
Telling you now of my state  
I tell you to enjoy life  
I wish I could but it's too late."**_

Duncan sat and smiled, listening to the finishing notes. He had seen dark things in his dreams of the Archdemon, but if the music of the new warriors was this powerful, and he hadn't even seen their battle strength yet, they may just have a little hope...


	6. Wilds Child

Wilds Child

Loghain was amused, for once. The new warriors that that irritating Duncan had recruited had woken up the entire camp with one phrase, and had then inspired them more than the Chantry had been able to in a week, in two minutes. With music, nothing less. If nothing else, it was good entertainment. He heard a knock at the tent door and turned, his smile vanishing as he saw Duncan enter.

"Lord Loghain, I trust you have heard of the new warriors and what they did this morning?"

"Yes I did, Grey Warden. What is your point?"

"Well my lord, we have seen what they can do for morale in camp. We have yet, however, to test their effectiveness against the darkspawn. I would like to request that two of them accompany the Warden recruits with the scouting patrols leaving this morning."

Loghain thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Very well. Just try not to get them killed too quickly."

1010101

"You want us two to do what?" Ophelia and Lita said, slightly shocked.

"A scout patrol with the Warden recruits, quite simply. Pick up the treaties and darkspawn blood. I don't see what the problem is." Alistair said confused.

Lita bristled at that, not because Ophelia would be there, but because she had to wander around with a bunch of amateurs. And Chulain. "Okay, we'll do it. But you owe me big time." She grinned sadistically at the idea.

Alistair shifted about nervously, "... that's ok. Sure..." Then he quickly found an excuse to leave. She was scary, very scary.

"Hey Lita, are you annoyed to be working with me?" Ophelia seemed actually concerned about the blonde warrior maiden. Lita picked upon this and was secretly confused. _'Why would she care, she has Eddie?' _

"No I'm not, but why did it have to be a bunch of amateurs? No skill, no stomach for a battle. High probability of early death, there's so many things that can go wrong!"

Ophelia sat quietly for a minute. "Okay, two things. One, you're wrong about the 'amateurs'. They're Grey Wardens, and therefore, the best of the best." Lita was shocked at this idea. "Secondly, because they are the best of the best, it's not fair that they be excluded from helping because of experience or because you like them." Then she smiled, and left, heading out towards the smithy.

Lita sat in stunned silence at what had been said. _'What does she mean because I like them?'_

1010101

Eventually the two of them made their way towards the main gate, where they met up with the rest of the patrol. Alistair and Chulain stood, looking impatient; beside two other men the girls didn't recognize. The taller of them bowed slightly, while the shorter was looking them up and down, grinning mischievously.

"Good afternoon, my ladies. You are the warriors Duncan recruited are you not?"said the taller of the two. "I am Ser Jory, a pleasure to meet you." Lita and he shook hands.

"Morning miss, name's Daveth. We'll be working together for a while I think." Ophelia didn't particularly like the smile he gave her.

"True, you watch my back I'll watch yours. Make sure you don't die."

"Sure, I'll be keeping a close eye on your back." She rolled her eyes and sighed. Then punched him in the gut and he doubled over. She knelt down and patted him on the shoulder.

"Just try not to get too distracted back there." She stood back up and walked out the front gate of the camp, with Alistair and Chulain sniggering and the others following behind.

The land around Ostagar was mostly marshland and formed a small part of the Korcari Wilds, a barren and dangerous place. Or so Duncan had told them. But Ophelia, having commanded the Drowning Doom in the past and seen the enormous graveyard that had been her domain for about four months, thought that this place was eerily beautiful.

Lita shivered as they walked, searching for the outpost Alistair had told them of. There was something not quite natural about this marsh. Something was definitely watching. They had been walking for only a minute or two when they came across a wounded soldier, dragging himself towards the camp in agony. He looked up and saw the group coming towards him and cried out.

Lita knelt down and inspected his wounds. The three months at Death's Clutch had taught her a few things about first aid. "You'll be fine after we bandage you up. Alistair, could you give me the cloth out of your pack? Now then, what happened to the rest of your patrol?"

"The darkspawn took them out before I even saw them. Some can turn invisible!" Lita finished working with the bandages and helped him up.

"Head back to camp, tell Duncan the Grey Warden about that. Now go!" He limped back towards Ostagar, soon disappearing beyond the visible mists. "Move out, keep watching for any Coil. Sorry, darkspawn." Lita drew her halberd.

"I'll scout ahead," said Ophelia gravely, drawing her two daggers. She slid forward into the marsh mists. The others followed after.

1010101

Ophelia felt eyes on her, eyes belonging to a dark creature, surprisingly not unlike a Gravediggger or a Warfather. She could hear the owner quicken pace, and she heard a hiss come out of the mist. Something lunged, but she was too quick and it fell, impaled on her blades. She called out to Lita, and the others came running. She looked down at the corpse on the ground. She was surprised.

It looked like one of Doviculus' troops, but without the leather. This was what the Coil looked like. She'd seen worse. The blood however, intrigued her. It was black, like a Tear Drinker's and it burned her hand ever so slightly. '_An alliance of the Coil and the Black Tears? Nah.'_

Lita took one look at the impaled corpse and smiled. "Nice kill. Save another for me next time."

They continued on, and came across more of the darkspawn. A Hurlock bellowed at Lita, thinking it would scare her or at least unnerve her. She wiped the spittle off her face, scowled and swung he halberd quickly, slicing through its neck cleanly; the head toppling off a moment later. The rest were quickly dealt with. At the top of a slope, there sat a ruined tower, looking like it had been empty since before Titans first walked the world. Around a score of darkspawn were guarding it fiercely.

Ophelia sighed and clambered up onto Lita's shoulders. The others were looking very confused as the two women ran off towards the darkspawn position, screaming at the top of their lungs. Ophelia jumped and spun into the first group, decapitating four. Lita flipped in an arc, slamming her halberd down and creating a shockwave, which sent another four into one of the barricades, pulping them against the spikes.

Alistair recovered and swung into the melee, hacking off several limbs and splitting a Hurlock's head open. Then he plunged his blade into the chest of a Genlock lying on the ground, ending its cursed existence. The three Wardens stood back and watched this with a mix of awe, fear and envy. "Such skill with blades ... it's phenomenal. Truly a gift from the Maker," said Jory.

'_No, another power guides their blades,'_ thought Chulain. He smiled and clapped, before running into the ruins, blade drawn. He saw the rotten form of a wooden chest to the side. He approached and stared in disbelief. The treaties weren't there.

"Well, well, what have we here? Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger poking amidst a corpse whose bones have been long since cleaned? Or merely an intruder, come into these darkspawn filled wilds of mine in search of... easy prey?" Ophelia looked around to see a young woman there, dressed in blacks, purples and dark reds; if you could call what she was wearing clothes.

Lita snarled at her. "Tear Drinker." The woman looked puzzled. Ophelia sighed and picked the bridge of her nose.

"That's one name I haven't been called before. Although I doubt I am what you say."

Ophelia stepped forward and tapped Lita on the shoulder. "There is no Sea of Black Tears in this world. She's not a Tear Drinker. She's obviously a mystic of some kind. The energy seems akin to the Kill Master, but different." She faced the woman. "Pardon the intrusion and insult, we're new around here."

Daveth cut in, "She's a Witch of the Wilds. She'll turn us all into toads!" Alistair smirked.

"And how do you propose that I accomplish this? Do you fear that Chasind barbarians will swoop down upon you?" She was obviously being sarcastic.

Alistair smiled a little and stared her blank in the eyes. "Yes... swooping is bad..." He sounded so deep when he said it that Chulain couldn't help grinning at the young Grey Warden. He certainly was a strange one...

"How very droll. Four Wardens? Interesting... but you two women. You're different, competent even. That is amusing. But enough banter, I assume you're here for the treaties then?"

"If you would be so kind," said Alistair, with more than a little malice in his tone.

"I can't, for it twas not I who removed them."

Chulain was becoming impatient. "Then who did?"

"Twas my mother in fact." She said as if it was nothing to be confused about.

Jory spluttered, "Your mother?"

Lita looked at him despairingly. "Well, could you take us to her?"

Morrigan smiled at her. "Now that is a sensible question. Follow me, if you wish." Lita and Alistair looked at each other and shrugged.

They walked forward after her, the six of them vanishing into the mists.


	7. Under A Cold Moon

Under a Cold Moon

Eventually the mists lifted away enough that they could see the outline of Ostagar ahead of them. They had all kept quiet as they had walked, expecting Darkspawn to ambush them at any time, or for some other forsaken creature to stumble at them, wanting their blood. Weirdly though, nothing did. Lita shivered. She didn't feel right here, it reminded her too much of the swamp graves infested with Gravediggers and Broods. It made her skin crawl. This place was unnatural and it freaked with her mind.

Ophelia on the other hand didn't say anything, but the grim look on her face said enough. She had been thinking about meeting Morrigan's mother, the old witch Flemeth in the marshes at her rotting mossy shack. The old hag's presence reminded her too much of a Battle Nun in stupor, when the Warfathers came to inspect the Coil's troops.

The Wild Witch had babbled incessantly to them and herself, but Ophelia had felt very uneasy around her, as if something darker was lurking near to the mad woman's hut. She looked over at Chulain, who looked unusually cheerful for the fact that they were walking through a marsh. At least Flemeth had complimented him, sort of.

"I will take my leave of you now, I'm pretty confident that you can make you way back to your army from here," Morrigan turned around to them and looked over at Alistair. "Of course I have been wrong before..." Chulain and the girls turned to thank her, but she was already walking back into the marsh, a definite sway to her hips.

Lita shivered and motioned to the others to move back to the gate posts leading into the camp. The night-watchman saluted them as they walked into the midst of yapping dogs, anxious soldiers and frustrated Ash Warriors. The atmosphere was thick and claustrophobic, needless to say the girls and Alistair didn't like it. Fear had descended on Ostagar like a heavy winter blanket.

Lita sighed with relief as she heard someone playing scales on a guitar. It was a tune that seemed to echo through the wind, like a leaf on the summer breeze. It wasn't the warmest of countries Ferelden, and she'd spent almost six months at Devil's Clutch after the defeat of Lionwhyte. She was actually quite surprised to realize that she hadn't heard this one before, but knew that Eddie was likely to have picked up something over the years.

Ophelia went straight over to the fire where Eddie sat with Clementine in his hands and a few soldiers sitting nearby. The Kill Master had Rima in his lap and she was ... purring? Ophelia giggled as she saw the Baron attempting to flirt with one of the Circle Mages, who was looking rather ticked off. The thing that got her about the girl was her ears. They were all pointy... She couldn't keep her curiosity under wraps.

She walked over to Eddie and kissed him on the cheek, him responding with a happy, content smile. She listened in to the 'riveting' conversation between the Baron and the pointy-eared girl, where he was trying hopelessly to convince her that he had saved Eddie and Lita from a plague of 'nigh-unkillable zombie bastards' as he called them. Which was true but hey, she didn't need to know that. Ophelia smiled smugly.

"Of course Baron, you do remember that from what Eddie tells me, you nearly wet yourself at the mere thought of the Zaulia tribeswomen when you were in the jungle? The way he tells it you seem to have forgotten that." Ophelia flashed a friendly smile to the girl, who smiled back and then Ophelia knew she had a friend here.

The Baron grumbled on about 'disrespectful corpses' but Ophelia shrugged off the insult. It wasn't him being malicious; he just had no tact when it came to his own opinions. The girl got up and shook her hand. "Thanks for distracting him, no offense but he's not my type. My name's Ysabel Surana, I'm an apprentice of the Circle of Magi ... or at least I was until my idiot of a best friend decided to be a blood mage and I got conscripted. That's what I'm doing in this freezing waste, how about you?"

Ophelia blinked. "Uhhh... I'm a ... mercenary working for the Grey Wardens. Desperate times call for desperate measures, what with a Blight and all." It was technically true... "My name's Ophelia. Just Ophelia." Ysabel nodded.

"Not what I'd have called you. I'm getting a ... Jennifer for some reason, I don't know. Anyways, who's the hunk with the freaky lute over there?" Ophelia fought down a burst of laughter but couldn't restrain a grin.

"That's actually my boyfriend Eddie Riggs. He's like our leader, but doesn't think of himself as such. The bald guy that was hitting on you was the Baron; he likes booze and fire, in that order. The blonde girl with the permanent scowl is Lita, nice girl when you get to know her. The big guy with the leopard girl in his lap is the Kill Master, our 'healer guy' I suppose and the said leopard girl is Rima. She's ... feral." Ysabel giggled at the descriptions.

"The guy unconscious and everybody avoiding him because of the smell? That's Mangus, our head 'tactician'. The blonde guy with the ... is that a cheese wheel? Anyway that's Alistair the Grey Warden, he's odd. Just odd. And tall, dark and floating on a cloud of sugary air is Chulain, Grey Warden recruit. The others are Daveth and Jory and I think that's it." Ophelia shrugged and pulled a bottle of beer from the now sleeping Baron's pocket, before taking a swig. It was cold, she'd say that much. Ysabel looked curious.

"What's that stuff?" Ophelia raised an eyebrow.

"A drink from back home. We call it beer?" Ysabel gave her a scathing look.

"I know what beer is, I'm not a little girl. I'm just wondering why it's in a glass bottle." Ophelia thought about it, and then shrugged.

"Keeps it colder I think. Go on, try it." Ysabel suddenly blushed a dark scarlet, letting Ophelia in on a possible embarrassing moment, which she grinned at. "Or not." She took another swig, just as Eddie finished tuning his guitar and began to speak to the soldiers.

"Ok dudes and dudettes, it's getting late and I think I'm going to call it a night." There were groans and calls of annoyance and disappointment from the small squad of soldiers. Eddie was smirking on the inside with pride that he had actually made them ask for more. "What's that? One last song? Okay it's late so it'll be a quieter one so the King doesn't have my head chopped off." There were some scattered laughs from the group.

Eddie put Clementine onto his knee and started picking the strings in a repeating pattern from the top to the base and back again. Ophelia lead Ysabel over to the fire beside him and she wrapped her arms around him from behind over his shoulders. With that, he began to sing, soothing her soul.

"So close no matter how far  
Couldn't be much more from the heart  
Forever trusting who we are  
And nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way  
Life is ours, we live it our way  
All these words I don't just say  
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you  
Every day for us something new  
Open mind for a different view  
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do  
Never cared for what they know  
But I know

So close no matter how far  
Couldn't be much more from the heart  
Forever trusting who we are  
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do  
Never cared for what they know  
But I know

Never opened myself this way  
Life is ours, we live it our way  
All these words I don't just say

Trust I seek and I find in you  
Every day for us something new  
Open mind for a different view  
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they say  
Never cared for games they play  
Never cared for what they do  
Never cared for what they know  
and I know YE-YEAH!

So close no matter how far  
Couldn't be much more from the heart  
Forever trusting who we are  
No nothing else matters."

Ophelia looked into the rapturous gleam in Ysabel's eyes and smiled softly. Eddie had brought her soul home as well.

1010101

Chulain tossed and turned in his sleep, before his eyes snapped open. He sat up and shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He needed to talk to Duncan. His 'vision' with the Guardian of Metal and his family had weighed on his mind today and he needed to get that off his chest. He made his way to Duncan's tent near the campfire and went inside. The elder man was busy writing a letter of something and was startled when he looked up.

"What brings you here in the dead of night Ser Cousland?" Chulain sat down opposite him and divulged the entire tale of the previous night's dream. He noted with some concern that Duncan's eyes got wider as he continued, being genuinely surprised by something. When he finished his tale, the Grey Warden sighed and ran a hand through his greying brunette hair.

"And you are sure that this Guardian of Metal is trustworthy?" Chulain shook his head, unsure now of whether the strange man was in fact an ally. "Good answer, but there is little need to worry. Our friend Eddie has told me of a similar experience that he had when he was in his homeland. This Guardian does match his description."

"Are you sure? What about the prophecy? ... I can't believe I just said that." Chulain shook his head in disdain. He didn't trust predictions. Something always went wrong.

Duncan stroked his beard. "The tale that the Guardian told you is similar to an old Tevinter tale I heard while in Val Royeaux many years ago. There was another tale that accompanied it, however. I could tell it to you, if you so wished." Chulain nodded eagerly.

"It is said that in the days of the Third Blight, a strange light appeared in the sky over the Frostback Mountains. Sounds of battle seemed to echo from the light, as if a war was contained inside it. One day, the sounds stopped and two creatures emerged from the light, before it disappeared. One was a human that they say stood seven foot tall, with a black beard reaching to his waist and eyes of flame. The second was a woman in form, though she kept her face hidden in a horned mask which covered it completely. The interesting thing was, the woman had two white wings, like that of a bat. She carried an axe so large, it defied reasoning that she could wield it."

"The two were approached by some local soldiers on evening leave, drunken. They attempted to approach the woman, and the man had turned his head away, as if abandoning her. Then a horrific screech went out of her mouth and it is said that their heads exploded in a shower of blood and skull. They walked onwards into the night and soon stories from the Anderfels to the Korcari Wilds told of the White Winged Death and her silent companion."

Chulain sat in silence, taking in the story. "You can see a statue of her from here actually, built by the Chasind many years ago. Apparently they revere her as the spirit that devours the souls of their enemies once they are dead. They call her by a different name however. They say that she once walked among them as a living being."

"What do they call her?"

Duncan leaned in closer to Chulain. "They call her Succoria."


End file.
